Bottle cap



BOTTLE CAP Filed May 12, 1932 JNVEN TOR. i/eQQ/JZ Z W/V/v o/z BY fl w, 7 624 A TTORNEYS.

Patented Nov. 21, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to a bottle cap more particularly for closing the top of a milk bottle, and has for one of its objects to provide a construction which may be easily lifted from sealing position by the house wife or user of the bottle.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a bottle closure which cannot be used a second time without detection.

Another object of the invention is to provide a bottle closure which will be sanitary and avoid the liability of the fingers coming in contact with the contents of the bottle.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a bottle closure which will fracture when used as intended but will not fracture when packed for shipment, prior to use.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a bottle cap having a frangible seal and a lift member which is so shaped that it will cause the fracturing of the seal and will also be so shaped that it may be easily and securely gripped between the fingers for lifting the cap from position.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will be more fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view looking at the top of the bottle cap.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view looking at the underside thereof. 7 7

Fig. 3 is a perspective view looking at the top of the cap in one position of the lift member when raised from its position shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view looking at the underside of the bottle cap when the lift member is raised to the position illustrated in Fig. 3 and showing the fracturing of the frangible disc when damp or wet.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the frangible disc.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the body portion of the disc.

Fig. '7 is a perspective view of the body portion after slotting.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the lift member in blanked-out form.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on line 9-9 of Fig. 4.

Milk bottle closures usually consist of a heavy paper disc forced into a slightly overhanging recessed edge of the top of a bottle. To remove such closure it is usually necessary to get some sharp instrument to stick into the disc to lift *l the same or force the disc inwardly, and at the same time to cause the milk, or other liquid in the bottle which may fill the same, to a point just beneath the closure to be forced out. Accordingly, lift devices are desirable that the cap may be lifted from position. However, it is also desirable from a sanitary standpoint that a bottle cap be of such construction that it cannot be used over again and thus avoid the carrying of germs from one home in which it may be used to another through the return of the cap to the distributor of the milk or contents of the bottle; and to accomplish this I have provided a disc member with a metal lift member which extends through the disc member and beneath the same to be anchored at oneend and which is sealed with a frangible member covering the bottom of the, disc member which, when wet, is easily fractured, and thus when the cap is in place on the bottle containing milk this sealing disc is in a moist condition and upon bending the 75,. handle portion of the lift member from its position as shown in Fig. 1, in which position it is supplied to the user, to the position at right angles to the cap as illustrated in Fig. 3, the shaping of the member at the fold is such that it will slide 80, through the body portion of the paper disc member and fracture the moist frangible sealing member which, in a moist condition, isunable to withstand the slight strain imparted thereto;

thus, the cap cannot be again used without dev tection unless repaired; and the following is a detailed description of the presentembodiment of this invention illustrating the preferred means by which these advantageous results may accomplished.

With reference to the drawing, 10 designates the disc member forming the body of the device which is provided with slots 11 and 12. This body member is usually formed of cardboard or heavy paper and may consist of several plies. .5 The lift member is conveniently in the form of ametal ribbon 13 which is so formed as to provide a handle portion 14 extending along the upper surface of the disc member 10 with a fold as at 15 to extend through the slot 11 with 1.00 a portion 16 extending beneath the disc member 10. In order that the end of the portion 16 opposite the fold 15 may be secured to the disc,

I have extended this portion 17 through the slot 12 and over the top of the disc as indicated at 1:05 18, to hold this end of the member in position, and yet permit a. swinging action about the por-- tion 1'? from a position as shown in Fig. 1 and with the portion 16 tightly in engagement with the bottom of the disc to a position with the portion 16 spaced therefrom as indicated in Figs. 4 and 9.

The handle portion 14 is concavo convex with its end 19 folded over to provide a smooth upper edge to prevent abrading of any material with which it might come in contact; also to enlarge the end to prevent it passing through the slot 11 and also that a better grip may be had uponthis handle portion between the fingers. When the lift device is in its folded inoperative position as illustrated in Fig. l, a sealing member 20 is cemented across the bottom of the disc to completely cover the portion 16 of the lift member. This sealing member may be any desired size to cover this portion 16 but is preferably the size of the disc, and is formed of thin paper somewhat paraffined which, when damp, offers but little resistance to pressure, and thus will be easily fractured. The fold portion 15 of the lift member, together with the concavo convex handle portion 14, is so shaped that when the handle member 14 is lifted from the position shown in Fig. l to the position shown in Fig. 3, this handle member will slide through the slot 11, due to the pressure exerted in bending the metal handle portion upwardly, and in so do ing the moistened sealing member 20 will be fractured by the portion 16 so that it may be detected if subsequently used.

The sealing member, however, is of such material that when not moist, a lifting of the handle-portion does not rupture it and thus there is less liability of damage in packing the caps constructed as above outlined. By this arrangement the concavo convex handle serves not only to afford a better grip to the fingers but also serves to force the handle member inwardly when first bent to operative position to cause the same to function as a puncturing device that people may be warned of the re-use of this cap,

forced back to its initial position, and thus this may be an additional means of detection of a used or handled cap.

A foregoing description is directed solely to- Wards the construction illustrated, but I desire it to be understood that I reserve the privilege of resorting to all the mechanical changes to which the device is susceptible, the invention being defined and limited only by the terms of the appended claims.

I claim:-

1. A bottle cap comprising a disc member, a lift member of spring metal hav ng a handle portion extending along the top of the disc memher and through the disc member with its end anchored to said disc, and a frangible sealing member covering the under portion of the lift member and secured to the underside of said disc member, said handle portion being liftable and said portion of the band beneath the said disc being so formed as to tend to move downwardly away from the disk upon lifting the handle to break the frangible sealing member.

2. A bottle cap comprising a paper disc member, a lift member formed of a ribbonv of spring metal comprising a handle portion extending along the top of the disc member and thence folded to extend therethrough and back along the under surface with its end again extending through the paper disc and anchored thereto, a sealing member of a material to be frangible when wet, secured along the bottom of said disc member and covering said lift member, said handle portion being liftable and said portion of the band beneath the said disc being so formed to tend to move downwardly away from the disc upon lifting the handle to rupture the frangible member when wet, while affording a handle to lift the disc member from position.

3. A bottle cap comprising a disc member having parallel slots thcrethrough spaced a substantial distance one from the other, a metallic band of spring material having a handle portion extending along the top of the disc member, thence through one of said slots, thence back along the underside of the disc member, through the other of said slots and with the end folded over the top of the disc member to form an anchor, a frangible sealing member covering the portion of the band beneath the said disc, said handle portion being liftable and said portion of the band beneath the said disc being so formed as to normally tend to move downwardly away from the disc to break the frangible sealing member.

FREDERICK W. NORTON. 

